T

he recent signing of a peace deal between the Sunni and Shia Muslim communities in Sampang on the island of Madura in East Java was surely more than just typical ceremony.

It was a rare moment, in which warring communities took their own initiative to bury the hatchet and vowed to rebuild their lives anew as good neighbors, or even brothers and sisters. They had coexisted in harmony before outsiders provoked them to fight each other anyway.

The outsiders could be people with certain political or economic gains in mind, narrow-minded, intolerant ulema or clerics who resist different interpretations of religious teachings and beliefs and even government officials who think they have the authority to decide what is right or wrong.

The role of outsiders was evident in the religious conflict in Sampang, which peaked on Aug. 27, 2012, when dozens of homes belonging to Shia followers led by Tajul Muluk were burned down. The arson attack followed speeches by local clerics and the Indonesian Ulema Council, which accused Tajuk of blaspheming Islam.

Tajuk was jailed, essentially for his beliefs, a move human rights defenders at home and overseas have lamented considering the Indonesian Constitution protects freedom of religion. Rights activists have particularly blamed blatant discrimination against minorities on the state.

The state even appeared to justify the discrimination when it asked the displaced Shia followers to relocate to Sampang Sports Stadium and eventually to the Puspa Agro apartments in Sidoarjo on the mainland.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the state contributed almost nothing to the peace process in Sampang. Coordinator of the displaced Shias, Iklil Al Milal, said government officials were invited to witness the signing of the peace accord by Shia followers and 16 village representatives but failed to turn up.

The state'€™s reluctance to facilitate peace talks between the Sunni and Shia communities in Sampang is understandable, considering its propensity to play it safe by acting in favor of the majority. This also explains why it has failed to enforce a legally binding Supreme Court verdict that upholds a Christian community'€™s right to build its own church in Bogor, West Java.

We have reason to celebrate community-based action to settle disputes, as in the case of Sampang, but on the other hand our faith in the state continues to erode. The Sunni-Shia reconciliation treaty itself is fair, as in it the majority Sunni community agrees to allow the Shia followers to return to Sampang and that both sides will show mutual respect toward each other and forget the past violence.

But given the silence, if not absence, of the state, there is no guarantee the peace will last long, let alone forever. The least the state can contribute to peace is protecting citizens'€™ constitutional rights in Sampang and anywhere else.